U21. Volyn vs Shakhtar: match preview

In the 20th round of the Ukrainian U21 League, Shakhtar will play their Volyn counterparts away. We invite you to familiarise yourself with the encounter preview

March 4, Lutsk, Pidshypnyk stadium, 12:00

Before the match

Shakhtar continue to fight for the league title and, despite a misfire in the previous round vs Vorskla (0-1), remaining one of the U21 league leaders. At the moment, the Pitmen have 42 points under the belt and the best goal difference in the league: 46-11.

The Orange-and-Blacks are leaving for the game without the injured Giorgi Arabidze and Mykyta Adamenko, who scored 10 goals each this season. Also, the weekly training cycle was missed by Dmytro Topalov who had been involved in two friendlies against Israel. He will join the team before the game. Shakhtar traditionally have no suspended players.

In the current league season, Volyn sit in the penultimate 11th spot. In 19 matches, the Lutsk side claimed four wins alongside two draws and 13 defeats (14 points, goal difference 19-56). The Red-and-Whites haven’t won any games in the recent seven rounds, with the team’s goalless run lasting for three matches.

A week earlier, the Crusaders suffered a narrow defeat at Oleksandriya (0-1). The participation of Lutsk’s top scorer Yaroslav Deda, boasting three goals this season, did not help.

Match background

The last seven meetings between Shakhtar and Volyn ended in wins for the Pitmen. They notched up 38 goals vs the opponents.

The first-half-of-season duel to have taken place place on September 23 in Schaslyve passed with overwhelming superiority of the Orange-and-Blacks, which resulted in six unanswered goals

The first-half-of-season duel to have taken place place on September 23 in Schaslyve passed with overwhelming superiority of the Orange-and-Blacks, which resulted in six unanswered goals. The goals against Lutsk were netted by Sahutkin, Zubkov, Matviienko, Hluschuk, Arabidze and Zinkevych. Finally, the team of Valeriy Kryventsov claimed a 6-0 win.

Trivia

Shakhtar have been invincible away: in the current league season, the Pitmen won six away games and drew three times.

Volyn have scored all their points at home this season. Among other results, it is worth noting the victory over Karpaty and Dnipro. The Lutsk team scored 17 home goals out of 19 this league season.